Until the World Ends
by TheWrtrInMe
Summary: Against all odds they found their way to each other. But what comes next will change everything. Seddie/slightly AU/liberties with canon. Third part in the 'Right as Rain' Trilogy. Part of the 10/5 iCarly MASS POST
1. Rednecks & Ivy Leagues

**A/N: Hey there readers! This story is a continuation of the 'Right as Rain' Story series (Part One: Right as Rain; Part Two: Summer of Love) and is co-written by myself and DwynArthur. For those of you who are new to our stories…Welcome! And for those of you who've read our stories before…Welcome Back!**

**"Until the World Ends" finds Sam and Freddie happily together after a junior year filled with drama and a summer filled with adventure. They're feeling pretty confident in their status as a couple…we'll see how long that lasts.**

**This is a multi-chapter story. Not sure at this point exactly how long it will be but we will be updating weekly on Thursdays. **

**Hope you like it.**

**-TheWrtrInMe & DwynArthur**

* * *

**Until the World Ends**

**Chapter One: Rednecks & Ivy Leagues**

"I can't believe you actually like watching that garbage!" Freddie stared intently at his computer screen and couldn't help but smile at the image of his girlfriend with a mouth full of Fadoodles as she laughed. 'Here Comes Honey Boo Boo,' a reality show following the family of a toddler beauty pageant contestant, had become a staple in Sam's already full must-watch television schedule. Freddie had watched it once, and only once, with her. He'd spent the whole episode with his mouth hanging open, shocked and disgusted at the parade of dysfunction. They made the Pucketts look like the Kennedys. But Sam loved it, and if he wanted to video chat with her between nine and ten on Thursdays, he had to do it while she watched.

"It's Honey Boo Boo! Wholesome family entertainment! What's not to like?"

"It's rednecks embarrassing themselves on national television."

"Again, what's not to like?" she laughed, and Freddie heard the loud squealing of the TV family's pet pig, Glitzy, coming from Sam's television.

"Seriously Sam, they have a pet pig! Who does that?"

"Aww…I think Glitzy's kinda cute," she said. "And I resent your redneck statement. Believe it or not, I'm three-quarters redneck."

"Three-quarters?" He frowned at the screen. Since returning from GalaxyCon, Sam and Freddie had been working at learning new things about each other. Having been friends – or frenemies – for so many years he found it hard to believe that there was anything he didn't already know about her. But Sam was full of surprises – like her redneck heritage revelation.

"Yeah, three-quarters. My J'Maw Maw is as country as they come."

"Hence the name…"

"No, I mean she's tractor ridin,' hog slaughterin,' Dolly Parton-strength country." Freddie didn't interrupt, enjoying the look of obvious affection on her face as she talked about her grandmother. Few people brought out softness in Sam. He liked to think he was one of them, but when it came to her family, her grandmother and her Uncle Carmine seemed to be the only ones who fit the bill. "But she married my grandpa – Poppy – and he was the exact opposite of her. His family was from New York. Some big shot, old money crowd. They disowned him when he married J'Maw Maw."

"Freddie?" his mother knocked on his door and waited for his response.

"What is it mom?"

"It's late…you need to get to bed. We have an early start tomorrow." He heard her start to walk away, then re-approach his door. "And tell Samantha she needs to get to bed too."

Freddie rolled his eyes and turned back to his laptop and Sam, who seemed lost in thought. "So…" he said, attempting to draw her back from the quiet place she'd retreated to. "Did you hear that?"

"Yeah…But we both know I'm not real good at listening to moms."

Freddie laughed and picked up the clipboard sitting beside him. His mother, ever the planner, had given it to him so that she could be sure he'd packed everything. He had to check all the appropriate boxes, then sign it and return it to her before midnight. He looked at the clock. 9:45. He had some time.

"Whatcha got there boy?" Sam's voice drew his eyes back to his computer screen. "Is that a clipboard?"

"Are you surprised?"

She laughed, "No, no I'm not. Disturbed. Entertained. But not surprised."

"She just wants to make sure I'm ready for tomorrow."

"Like she hasn't checked your luggage herself at least ten times in the past week. I bet your suitcases are already lined up by the door." She snorted, "Such a nub."

Freddie was used to her jabs about his mother, but now when Sam talked about Marissa, there was affection on the edges of her insults. More shocking than his relationship with Sam was Sam's relationship with his mother. Somehow, he didn't really care about the details, they'd become close. Or at least close enough for Marissa to be the only person on the planet who could call Sam by her given name and not be punished.

He turned his own laptop so she could see the two large, overstuffed, suitcases sitting by his own bedroom door. "She made me pack the regular size first aid kit…and I'm pretty sure there's a GPS tracker sewn into the suitcase."

Sam laughed. "Gotta give it to the old girl…she goes all out!"

"Awww," he teased, "Sam loves my mom!"

"Can it Benson." She warned, "I wouldn't call it love. But…I no longer want to kill myself when I'm around her."

Freddie wiped away an imaginary tear and put his hand over his heart in mock solemnity. "Why Miss Puckett, that may be the most beautiful thing I've ever heard." He paused, "So… you accounted for a quarter of your redneck roots." He said, "What about…your dad?" He was hesitant to bring it up. Sam's father was generally an off-limits topic. He'd lost his own father when he was young and while he'd learned to deal with it, the pain was still raw sometimes. It was different for Sam though, since her father had left of his own free will.

He watched as a dark look cast a shadow over her blue eyes, covered expertly seconds later with her trademark smirk.

"My dad's family is redneck to the core. Or at least that's what my mom says. He's from Tennessee. Deep in the heart of redneck country."

Freddie didn't bother to mask his shock. "Is that where he lives now? I thought…"

"Thought he disappeared without a trace?" she gave a soft laugh, "Sort of, I guess. We didn't know where he was for a long time. Mom thinks he went back to Nashville." She sighed, "But she says there's no point in chasing someone who doesn't want to be found. So, yeah, maybe he's there, maybe he's not, either way, it doesn't really matter."

They were silent. Freddie wasn't sure what to say. The knowledge that she'd spent all of these years knowing where her father was but having no contact with him made him feel a hollow sadness for her. She didn't deserve that. Sam could be abrasive and even outright rude at times, but underneath her smart mouth and bravado she was amazing. Loyal and caring. Part of him wondered if the hardened façade she felt the need to show the world was a direct result of having been let down by the one person who never should have. He'd never met Brian Puckett and hoped he never did – but if the opportunity presented itself he hoped he'd have the courage to tell the man exactly what he thought about him. And if that conversation involved flying fists – all the better.

"Sam, I know talking about your dad is hard for you but…"

"Shush…" Sam said, waving hand at him as her attention was drawn back to her television, "June and Sugar Bear are going on a date!"

Freddie rolled his eyes. A lot of things had changed in the time he and Sam had been dating, but one thing hadn't. She still held the uncanny ability to shrug off anything unpleasant, any ugliness she wanted to avoid. But he knew now, more than ever, that despite the picture of nonchalance she presented to the world, the ugliness of the life she'd had to live was never far from her thoughts – or her heart.

She drew in a sharp breath, "Oh, my God!"

"What!" Freddie sat up, already in 'Save Sam' mode. It didn't take much.

"She's knocked up!"

"Who? Honey Boo Boo? She's like six years old, Sam!"

"Not the kid you doof! Her sister, Chickadee."

He had to laugh at that one. "Her name is…Chickadee?"

"Yep," Sam said, ignoring his sarcasm. "She's pregnant and she can't be more than, like, seventeen…maybe younger even!"

"Wow." Freddie wasn't exactly shocked. It wasn't like he hadn't seen pregnant teenagers before. Carly had developed a fondness for watching '16 and Pregnant' a couple of years ago and had dragged him and Sam along to watch a few times. And if he wasn't mistaken, there had been a number of girls at his school last year who were pregnant. Teen pregnancy wasn't a shock, but it was something he truly hoped he'd never have to deal with – ever.

That shouldn't be a problem. Pregnancy required sex, and as wonderful as their first time had been for him, it didn't look like he could expect an encore anytime soon.

He really didn't to be that kind of guy. One who spent every waking moment thinking about sex. It was easier when he didn't know what he was missing. But now, well, things were different. Eighteen years of no sex, one night of amazing sex, fourteen nights of no sex. It was simple mathematics and it all added up to a supremely frustrated Freddie.

He'd tried to shrug it off. He figured it could be anything. Maybe she was tired. Maybe there were 'lady issues' preventing an encore. But at the back of his mind was the nagging thought that there was another reason. Maybe he wasn't any good at it. It seemed like Sam had enjoyed the night just as much as him, but what if he was wrong?

He'd been a gentleman since they'd arrived back in Seattle from GalaxyCon. He didn't push and when their makeout sessions got so hot he thought he'd have to call the fire department to hose them down. He didn't complain when their time together ended with a soft kiss at the front door – and him in a cold shower. But his patience was losing the battle with his hormones. He needed to talk to her, to find out what the issue really was – but he wasn't so sure he wanted to hear the answer.

_'Sam…why aren't we having sex?'_

_'Because you suck at it, Fredwardo. Now pass me a Fatcake.'_

Yeah…he thought it might be best just to wait and see how it played out.

"Earth to Fredward!" Sam's voice was loud and when his eyes snapped back to his computer, her face filled the screen, a frown of irritation etched across it.

"What? Oh, sorry Sam. I was just, um…thinking…"

"Well don't hurt yourself? I think I saw steam coming from your ears."

"Oh, just, um…" he paused, "thinking about the trip."

"Awww…is little Freddie nervous?" She laughed. In the past, her comment would have been laced with sarcasm and snark. But he knew she understood how important this trip was. It was the biggest thing to happen to him since, well, her.

When they'd gotten back from Portland his mother had given him an envelope with the shining seal of NIT – The National Institute of Technology, the premier technology school in the country. In the spring he'd applied for acceptance to the N.I.T Young Scholars Program – an event where some of the best and brightest high school students from around the country converged on the N.I.T campus for a week of lectures and hands on training. The application process was strenuous and he hadn't been sure he'd get in – it was the reason he never mentioned it to Sam or Carly. When his mother handed him the envelope he'd nearly fainted, especially because it was heavy. Rejection letters weren't heavy. He'd opened it to find that he'd not only been accepted to the program but invited to tour the NIT campus and interview for an early admission spot for the 2013 freshman class.

Six months ago that letter would have been the stuff of dreams, but when he'd read it, once, twice, three times, there was only one thing running through his mind.

Sam.

He wasn't sure how she would take it. Up to this point, the future was something they discussed in very vague terms. Sam knew that going to NIT had been his dream for most of his life, but being with her, loving her –had given him a different kind of dream. Now it was difficult to imagine any scenario for his future that didn't involve her.

NIT was in Washington, D.C., all the way across the country from Seattle. Unless Sam applied, and was accepted, to a Washington-area school, they were looking at four long years of a relationship limited to holiday visits, summer vacations and video chats. The idea of not seeing her every day, in the flesh, left him nauseated and with that thought weighing on his mind he'd decided he'd wait to tell her.. He'd wanted to find the right time. But as usual, Sam beat him to the punch. She found the letter the same night and in a move totally uncharacteristic of Sam, she hadn't overreacted. She didn't ridicule him and, best of all, she didn't run away.

She said she supported him. She wanted him to have his dream. And she'd made him promise that no matter what, they would never allow their relationship to make them give up on the things that were important to them. He'd tried, and failed, to get her to see that _she_ was what was important to him. When that didn't work he'd just spent the night holding her and dreaming of ways to make sure he'd always be able to.

Now here he was, hours away from one of the most important moments of his life. He was nervous, anxious – and exhausted. But Sam, true to form, was leaning back against the headboard of her bed, eating snacks and watching insane television shows as if nothing was changing.

But everything was.

"I am nervous…a little," he said, laughing at the doubtful look on her face. "Okay, a lot. It's just that I've wanted this…NIT, forever and now that it's happening it's just a little…scary."

"What's scary about it?" Sam asked, genuinely confused. "You're going to go to NIT for this interview, you're going to blow their socks off with your brilliance and general nerdiness. They're going to accept you and you're going to live out your techboy dreams! What part of that is scaring you exactly?"

He shook his head. He had no idea how to explain it to her. When he'd tried to broach the subject with Sam since receiving the letter she'd artfully changed the subject. "It's just that, if I get in, I'll be there and…you'll be here. What if…"

"Freddie…we've been over this.."

"I know, but," he sat up and looked into the screen, "you know there are some really great schools around her. UW has one of the best engineering programs in the country."

"One of the best isn't the same as THE best."

"Yeah, but if Carly stays here instead of going to Georgetown and I go to UW, we'd all be togeth…"

"Stop." Her voice was firm and his mouth closed on instinct. He watched as she grabbed the remote beside her and clicked off the television. He looked at the clock. 9:55. She was going to miss the end of the episode…she must be pissed. The look on her face only confirmed his train of thought. "Listen up Freddie, because I swear to goodness I'm only going to say this once." He didn't bother to speak, just stared back at her. Her eyes, God those eyes, were the clearest shade of blue and currently cutting right through him. But they didn't look angry. She looked…concerned. She bit at the corner of her lip and lowered her head, as if trying to find the words to say. "I love you." She said softly. It wasn't the first time he'd heard it, but the way she said it – the vulnerability lying just beneath the surface, almost broke him. "I love that you get worried about stupid things. I love that you fanboy over old sci-fi movies. I love that you know your mother is crazy but you still love her, and you know that _I'm_ crazy but you still love me too. I love that being with you feels like the one thing in my life that I've done right, the one thing I can really be proud of." She stared back at him and he wanted more than anything to crawl through the screen and kiss her senseless. "Do you really think that something as stupid as an Ivy League school and a few thousand miles is gonna change that?"

His heart cried out his deepest fears.

_'Yes! That's exactly what I'm afraid of!'_

But something deeper, something at the very center of him in the place where loving her had transformed him, heard the words she wasn't saying. They could get through this…whatever this turned out to be. Because loving each other didn't mean having to choose between being together and being happy – being together _was_ being happy.

"You know, for a blond headed demon – you make a lot of sense sometimes."

"Yeah, yeah," she said, sitting back, her cool exterior firmly back in place. "You're damn lucky to have me."

He smiled at her and let out a deep breath. "I wish you were coming with me."

She laughed, but her smile didn't reach her eyes. "You'll only be gone for three days. I'll be raiding your fridge again before you know it." She leaned in close to the screen, "And if you can manage to get your mom to leave us alone for a minute I'll give ya a lip lock that'll last ya for a while." Her phone began to chime and she looked down at it, chuckling "Speak of the devil." She turned back to him, "Well Freddie, looks like Mama Bear Benson is calling an end to this video chat."

"What?"

She put her phone up to the screen so he could see the text message she'd just received.

_From: Crazypants_

_Samantha, you and Freddie both need your sleep. Get to bed. We'll see you bright and early tomorrow. Do not be late._

They both laughed at the absurdity. His mother had taken to mothering Sam, and Sam, surprisingly, didn't seem to object.

"Alright then, I'm pretty tired anyway." He yawned and Sam followed suit. "So…see you tomorrow?"

She smiled a smile that made him fall in love with her all over again.

"Just try and stop me," she said, her screen going black.

Freddie closed his laptop and got off his bed, walking over to his desk where he slipped the computer into his bag. Turning out the light he slid beneath the covers, wishing that he could feel as confident as Sam sounded.

Sam.

God he loved that girl. And as crazy as it sounded, loving her was what made this whole trip so hard. Tomorrow felt like the beginning of something big for him – first day of the rest of his life type big.

But would that be a life without Sam in it?

Sam shut her television off, and lay back against the pillows on her bed. She lay there, quietly staring at the ceiling as she played her conversation with Freddie back in her head.

"You are a liar, Sam Puckett," she spoke into the silent room.

It wasn't news. Normally she prided herself on her ability to take the black and white that was truth and deception, blend them together until it was hard for anyone to tell where one ended and the other began – even her. But lying to Freddie felt, dare she say it, wrong. She wasn't used to feeling like this and no matter how many times she told herself that she'd done it for the right reasons she couldn't shake the feeling that her well intentioned half-truth was a mistake.

Since Freddie's letter from NIT had arrived, it'd been like a shadow hanging over her…over them. That tiny envelope had placed a giant elephant in the middle of every room she stood in with him. She'd told him she was happy for him. And she was, sort of. She'd told him she wanted him to chase his dream right across the country to his fancy school – even if that meant leaving her behind.

That was the lie.

She'd just gotten used to it, to being part of an 'us'. She was used to waking up to his cheesy texts and spending lazy Sunday afternoons laying on his bed while he blabbered on about one thing or another. She was used to the feel of his hands in her hair, his lips soft against hers. She didn't want to lose that. She knew it was selfish. That's why she wouldn't let him know how she really felt. That's why she'd lied, why she'd keep lying if she had to. And that was why she was getting ready to do something she really didn't want to do.

She walked to her bedroom door and opened it, screaming down the stairs. "Mom!"

"What do you want?!"

"I need Mel's new number!" In any other household, the screaming would seem dysfunctional, but in the Puckett house, it was business as usual.

She grabbed a pen and a piece of paper and jotted down the number her mother bellowed out to her. Closing her bedroom door, she sat lightly on her bed and took a deep breath. She wasn't close to her sister. They talked rarely and when they did it was the basics – how are you? I'm fine. Great, where's mom? And that was the end of it. It wasn't that she didn't like Melanie necessarily. It was just that other than DNA they had nothing in common.

Sam was a free-spirit, fly by the seat of her pants, take life as it comes sort of person. She did enough work in school to get by and didn't feel the need to plan out every single detail of her life. Melanie was her polar opposite: organized and anal – she had a five-year plan for a five-year plan. While Sam hung out with friends and lived the life of a normal teenager (well, as normal as it could be when she lived with Pam Pucket), Melanie had gone, on scholarship, to a fancy boarding school on the East Coast, graduated early and was now living in Washington D.C, going to college and working as a nanny part-time. Sam have rather dipped her toes in acid than spend her days running after snotty, germy brats. But her mom said that Mel loved her job, which was good because that job that was the reason for Sam's call.

"Hello?" Melanie's voice was groggy and Sam remembered too late that it was almost three o'clock in the morning there.

"Hey, Mel."

"Sam?" Mel cleared her throat, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Sam said, trying to sound cheery, "Can't I just call to talk to my favorite sister?"

"I'm you're only sister Sam. And you never call me unless something's wrong." Sam couldn't argue with that since, well, it was true. "So spill…what's up?"

"I need a favor."

"You never ask me for favors."

"First time for everything." She said, shrugging off the shock she heard in Melanie's voice. She didn't call Mel for favors – she'd never needed to, until now. "So listen, didn't you say you're babysitting for some hotshot at NIT?"

"First – I'm not a babysitter, I'm a nanny. Second, he's not 'some hotshot', he's the Dean for the College of Engineering."

"I'm not seeing the difference." Sam said, already tired of the conversation, but she had an objective and she couldn't' let her sisters annoying 'know-it-allness' distract her. "So anyway…do you think you'd be able to, like, set up a meeting with him."

"For you?!" Melanie didn't bother to hide her disbelief

"Thanks for the vote of confidence Mel. No, it's not for me. It's for…Freddie."

Mel was silent for a moment. "For Freddie? You want me to set up a meeting for Freddie? Why?"

"He's coming to D.C. because he got into some young genius' program at N.I.T."

"The Young Scholars Program? Are you serious?!" Mel's voice took on the excited squeal that made Sam's ears bleed. "They only accept like 10% of the students who apply to that!"

"Yeah, Freddie's a genius…I thought we'd already covered that."

"I couldn't even get into that program!" she said, "So why do you need me to help him?"

"He's got an interview while he's there. He's trying to get early admission. He's pretty nervous and I just thought…I thought it might help his chances if, you know, there was someone to sort of grease the wheels."

"You've got it pretty bad, huh little sister?"

"You're only five minutes older than me Melanie. That hardly qualifies you to be a big sister. Now can you do it or what?"

"You and Freddie must be pretty serious."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, I'm just saying…" she sighed, "are you sure you want to…encourage him to come here?"

"Of course I'm sure." She lied, "Why wouldn't I?"

"If Freddie comes to N.I.T you guys will be thousands of miles away from each other. How's that going to work for you?"

"Look Mel, I just need your help with this." She closed her eyes and tried to stay calm.

"If he was my boyfriend…"

"Which he's not."

"I'd keep him as close as possible."

"Again, not your decision." She forced strength into her voice. Willed herself to sound sure, confident – all the things she wasn't. "This is what Freddie wants, more than anything and…I want him to be happy."

"Even if it's not with you?"

"Mel!"

"Alright, alright. I guess I can see what I can do. Doctor Fielding is really nice, he's always willing to help students who show potential and Freddie…has lots of potential." Her voice was tinged with something Sam couldn't readily identify. "Are you coming too?"

"Nope."

"Oh. Well, when does he get here?"

"Tomorrow."

"What?! Sam, why did you wait until now to call me? Doctor Fielding is a very busy man! How do you expect me to pull this off?"

"Remember last summer…mom's diamond earrings that came up missing after you visited for spring break?" Mel was silent, "Well, if you can find it in your generous heart to help me I can probably keep letting mom think the blackjack dealer walked off with them…instead of her favorite daughter."

"Same old Sam."

"Same old Mel."

Mel sighed. Since they were kids Sam had always been able to find a way to get Mel to do what she wanted. She placed a hand on the diamond studs in her ears. "Okay Sam. I'll talk to Doctor Fielding."

"Really?"

"Yeah, what time is he landing?"

"Five o'clock I think. Then they're staying at a hotel near campus."

"Okay. Text me his number and I'll call him with the details."

"You got it." Sam breathed a sigh of relief. Dealing with her sister was only slightly more pleasant than dealing with her mother. She hoped Freddie appreciated it. "So, I'm gonna go. And…thanks Mel. This will mean a lot…to Freddie."

"Yeah, don't get too excited yet. I said I'd try…no guarantees."

"Talk to you tomorrow."

"Yep, and Sam…tell Freddie I say hello."

The line went dead and Sam tossed her phone onto her nightstand, returning to her spot on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She probably should have talked to Freddie first. Or found a way to help that didn't involve her sister but she was desperate. Not just because she wanted to help Freddie, but because she needed to prove to herself that she was capable of being there for him, no matter what it cost her.

Tomorrow Freddie was off to D.C., she would watch while he took the first step toward doing what he'd been dreaming about for as long as she knew him. She would smile, tell him how proud she was of him and how sure she was that he was doing the right thing.

Tomorrow she would watch Freddie move forward, even if it meant leaving her behind.

Even if it was breaking her heart.

**A/N2:**

**Hope y'all liked it…I had a blast writing it. The iCarly fandom has been VERY quiet lately, not a lot of new stories being posted and many of the authors I like have been on hiatus. But it looks like people are coming back. Don't believe me? Well, check out the authors/stories below. All are brand spanking new stories and chapters written by some of the most amazing iCarly writers on this site. Check 'em out…RIGHT NOW!**

**Author Name Story Title**

**DwynArthur The Puckett Acquisition (new chapter)**

**TheWrtrInMe & DwynArthur Until The World Ends (new story)**

**SMAAD4Seddie Since You've Been Gone (new story)**

**AnnieRocket Just Kids**

**ThatSamGirl Dear Sam**

**ExpressionsofAWriter icarly The Movie (new chapter)**

**Pigwiz The Apartment (new chapter)**

**IAMCAGE The Hollywood Massacre (new story)**

**butterflylovesicarly iBurn (new chapter)**

**KingxLeon21 BAAGBoys (new chapter)**

**PrincessPurplee Contagious Chemistry (new story)**

**Moviepal The Last Time I Felt Like This (new story)**

**Heartlines12 Playing House (new chapter)**

**Random Drama21 Kiss Me, Kill Me!**

**Leave a review…or an army of angry dust bunnies will haunt your dreams! Not really…but leave a review anyway.**

**XXOO- TheWrtrInMe & DwynArthur**


	2. Capitol Meltdown - Part 1

**A/N:**

**Welcome back to Until the World Ends. Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed - it's always appreciated. So what did everyone think of 'iShock America' and 'iGet Banned'? I'm starting to think that before the seasons over Schneider might just remember that once upon a time...Seddie existed. But you never can tell with im.**

**Hope you enjoy - and drop us a review to tell us what you think. If you get time, check out some of our other stories - you'll be glad you did.**

**-TheWrtrInMe & DwynArthur**

* * *

**Until the World Ends**

**Chapter 2 Part 1 – Capital Meltdown**

"_Ladies and gentleman, welcome to United Airlines Flight 437, direct to Washington Dulles International Airport."_

_No turning back now,_ Freddie thought as he settled into his seat, making sure the seat trays were up and his seat belt fastened. This was it; he was finally on his way to Washington, D.C. It was still sort of hard to believe, but not as shocking as the news Sam had given him when he left.

_She decided not to come to the airport with him. She arrived at his house at six in the morning – he wasn't sure he'd ever known her to be conscious that early in the morning – ever. She stood in his living room, clad in her pajamas – a fact his mother, gratefully, did not mention-her hair still wild from sleep. He was going to miss her, and he told her as much._

"_You're going away for three days, not three years," she said. "No need for sappy goodbyes."_

_He wanted her to come but he understood, at least a little, her hesitation. This trip to N.I.T. was a big deal, one that left awkwardness between them. Neither of them knew how it would turn out or how it might affect them. She wanted to play it safe. _

"_So, are you excited?"_

"_Yeah, I guess, but still a little nervous too."_

"_Well," she smiled, "I think I might have something to help with that."_

"_Sam – no more Dramamine. I'd like to be conscious for this trip."_

"_Cool your jets, boy, it's not that." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a rumpled piece of paper, smiling as she handed it to him. He accepted the paper and unfolded it. Written in the middle in Sam's familiar chicken scratch were a name and a phone number._

_Melanie: 202-555-1496_

_Freddie looked up at her with confusion. "Melanie's number? What's this for?"_

_She looked nervous, twirling the string of her hoodie around her finger. "Well, you know she's living in D.C., I told you that right?"_

"_Yeah…"_

"_Well, she's apparently working for some hot shot guy from N.I.T., Dr. Feilding, the Dean of…"_

"_The Dean of the College of Engineering!" Freddie's voice rose. Dr. Feilding was like a giant in the technology world. "She knows him?!"_

"_Yeah, she's his babysitter…I mean, 'nanny'" she said sarcastically, "So, anyway, I called her last night and she said that, if you want, she could set up a meeting, or try to anyway, between – you know, between you and Dean Bigwig."_

_Freddie just stared at her, not sure what to say. A meeting with the Dean of the department he was so desperate to get into. He couldn't believe it. "You're serious?"_

"_As a heart attack. So…" The rest of her words were cut off as Freddie pulled her into a bone-cracking hug. "Whoa there, cowboy." Sam laughed, "She said she'd try…no guarantees. But I gave her a little incentive so, I think it's probably gonna happen."_

"_Incentive? A _legal_ incentive?"_

_She narrowed her eyes, "Thanks for all the faith in me."_

_He was immediately sorry he'd said it. Sam was different now. He and Carly's quips about her dabbling on the wrong side of the law were dated, but old habits sometimes died hard. "Sam, I don't know what to say. This is…amazing." He hugged her again, softer this time, inhaling the scent of vanilla and brown sugar from her hair. "Thank you."_

_She pulled back and smiled up at him, her arms still around his waist, "Yeah, yeah. I'm wonderful – we already knew this."_

"_So," he asked, "I'm supposed to call her?"_

"_I gave her your number, and your flight information. She's supposed to call you but I figured you should have her number –just in case."_

_Freddie looked down at the paper, folding it again and sliding it into his jacket pocket. "I'm still in shock. If I could get a recommendation from Dr. Feilding it would…"_

"_Change your life? Send you into fits of nerdish glee?"_

_He laughed, "Something like that. So she's gonna call me when we get there?"_

"_Who's going to call you, Fredward?"_

_Freddie and Sam looked over his shoulder at his mother as she struggled to drag her monster suitcase into the room._

"_Oh, good morning Samantha! Ready to go to the airport?"_

"_Hey Mrs. B. I'm not going to the airport, actually."_

"_What? Why not?"_

"_Just figured it was better to say goodbye here – let Freddie spend some time getting his game face on. He's got some big people to impress. Plus the bus back from the airport takes forever and…I'd rather be sleeping."_

_His mother gave her a knowing look but said nothing. "So what was it I heard about someone calling you, Fredward?"_

"_Oh, Sam's sister lives in D.C. and she actually works for the Dean of The College of Engineering!" he said, hardly containing his excitement. "She's going to try to get me a meeting with him!"_

"_Well, that's quite the surprise!" she said, turning to Sam, "It was very nice of you to arrange that, Samantha. So you really do have a twin?" She looked at Freddie. "I thought that was a practical joke."_

"_Wait till you meet her…the fact that we're related sort of seems like a practical joke to most people."_

_They all laughed as Freddie helped his mother with her suitcase. It was almost time to go. He hated to leave her-they'd spent the summer practically joined at the hip. He hated the fact that now, when he was doing something so important, he wouldn't have the one person with him that he wanted to share it with._

"_Well," Sam said, "I guess it's time for you to go. I better get going too."_

_Marissa looked between the two of them and smiled. "Oh, I guess I'll give you two a moment to say goodbye." She grabbed her purse and keys, heading for the door. "Fredward, I'm going to pull the car around front. I'll see you when we get back, Sam."_

"_Sure thing Mrs. B. Have a nice trip." Marissa shut the door behind her and Sam turned to Freddie. "You're gonna be fine, you know."_

"_How do you know that?" he said, walking close to her._

"_Because you're Fredward Benson…you don't know how to fail." Her smile was soft as she looked up at him. "I'll miss you." Her voice was almost a whisper._

"_What's that?" he said, leaning down toward her, laughing, "I didn't quite catch that."_

"_You heard me you nub…I said I'm going to miss you…and all that other mushy chiz."_

_He wrapped his arms around her, memorizing how she felt so he could recall it later when he would surely wish she were by his side. "That's what I thought you said." He leaned in and rested his lips on hers. Kissing this girl never got old._

_All too soon, she pulled away, still standing in his arms. "You better get a move on before your mother puts out an APB." She leaned up and placed one last kiss on his cheek and turned around, heading for the door._

"_Don't suppose you're gonna help with these bags?" he asked._

_She turned at the door, "Oh, Fredward…you must not know me at all."_

"At this time we request that all mobile phones, pagers, radios or remote controlled toys be turned off for the full duration of the flight."

Freddie reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, which he'd already put on silent. He had two text messages. One was from Sam.

_Sam: Have fun. Impress that pants off those N.I.T. folks. Miss me a lot…and bring me something. Mama likes gifts._

She'd signed it with a heart that made him smile to himself. The second message was from an unknown number.

_+12025551496: __Hey Freddie, it's Sam's sister Melanie. So excited you're coming to D.C.! Got a big surprise for you…text me when you get in._

She'd finished the text littered with smiley faces. She and Sam were so entirely different.

He didn't have time to respond to either text as he shut his phone off and slipped it into his pocket. His mother looked up at him from the magazine she was reading.

"You okay Freddiebear?"

"Mom," he said, "Can you please stop calling me that? It's sort of embarrassing," he said, looking around the cabin to see if anyone had heard her.

"Sorry honey, it's habit I guess." She folded her magazine and slipped it into her purse. "So, you feeling okay? Nervous?"

He thought about it. The night before his stomach had been lodged in his throat. The thought of the N.I.T. interview, coupled with his uncertainty about how Sam was feeling about it, made any sort of peace elude him. Now, after seeing her this morning, realizing just how far she'd gone to make things good for him – to support his dreams-he was feeling better. He'd been worried for nothing, he hoped. He could have it all, N.I.T. and Sam. He wasn't sure how, he just knew that choosing a life that didn't involve her wasn't an option.

"Nope, not nervous," he said, looking out of the window, "just ready."

* * *

Murphy's Law was in full effect in Washington, D.C. Freddie felt the beginnings of a monster headache as he stood with his mother at the center of a D.C. Metro station teeming with people – none of whom seemed to have the time to help him. He wanted to scream, throw an 'on the ground, kicking and screaming, toddler tantrum.' But most of all he wanted to get the hell out of this train station and to the N.I.T. tour he was now thirty minutes late for.

He was having a meltdown. Right in the center of the nation's capital.

"Freddie? Freddie!" His mother's voice felt particularly grating this morning. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and looked over at her. She was in full tourist mode, all the way down to the fanny pack she'd insisted on strapping around her waist. So on top of being frustrated, he was also embarrassed.

"What, Mom?"

"This sign says that we've gotten on the wrong train line. I think we're lost." Her brow furrowed.

"Really? Wow, Mom. You figured that out all on your own?"

Marissa turned to him, her eyes narrowed to slits. "Don't you take that tone with me Fredward Karl Benson!"

"I'm sorry mom," and he was. He didn't want to snap at her – she was his only ally in this sea of strangers at the moment, but his frustration was getting the better of him.

It all started this morning.

Their flight had been perfect, no turbulence, landed on time and their luggage was intact. He got a text from Melanie confirming that he'd be meeting with Dr. Feilding the next day. Sam had called and told him how proud she was, and that she loved him. He had an email from the person who would be leading his N.I.T campus tour, confirming the time and place. Everything was set; going exactly right, and as he laid his head on the softest pillow he'd ever felt and fell asleep, he couldn't believe his good fortune.

Then he woke up.

The wake up call they'd asked for never came because he'd knocked the phone off its hook in his sleep. The ringer on his phone was set to Pacific time so he'd shut it off when it woke him up three hours early – then overslept. By the time he woke up he was already running late.

'_No big deal_,' he thought, '_we'll just have to move a little faster_.'

Wrong.

Once they finally got out of the hotel, the collared shirt and tie his mother insisted on already making him hot and uncomfortable, they'd followed the hotel concierge's directions to the nearest Metro station. Melanie had offered to meet him and escort them to campus but he'd turned her down, a decision he quickly came to regret. Once at the Metro station they stood in line behind what felt like a million people only to end up in front of not one but two broken fare card machines. Train passes finally in hand, they consulted a giant diagram of the D.C. Metrorail system and discovered that there wasn't just one train line. There were six, all different colors and all going in several different directions. They took the Red Line train that looked to take them directly to campus.

Wrong again.

They'd spent twenty minutes on the train only to find they were going in the wrong direction. Sweating under his collar and tugging at his tie Freddie tried to take charge, pulling his mother off the train and into their current nightmare.

They were at Metro Center, or so the sign said, and the last time he dared to look at his watch he was over thirty minutes late. It was time to call in reinforcements.

Reaching into his pocket he pulled out his pearPhone and dialed the only number that would help.

"Freddie?"

"Hey, Melanie."

"Where are you? Aren't you supposed to be on your campus tour? Probably not a good idea to call me now…they frown on that sort of thing,.."

"Yeah, that's sort of why I'm calling. I'm not on campus yet…"

"What! The tour started like…thirty minutes ago!"

"I know," he said, walking to a shadowed corner of the station, trying to hear her better. "We were sort of lost…_are_ sort of lost I mean."

"Oh, no! Why didn't you call me! I'd have come to the hotel and taken you to campus."

"Yeah, sorry. I guess I thought I could do it myself. Seattle isn't exactly a small town."

"But it's not D.C."

"I've gathered that." He laughed. Her voice was friendly, and after the morning he'd had it was nice to hear a friendly voice. "So can you help me?"

"Sure thing jellybean!" she chirped. It was hard to believe someone this perky was a Puckett. "Where are you now?"

"Um, the sign says we're at Metro Center."

"Oh, that's easy. You're actually not too far away. Here's what you need to do…"

Freddie listened intently as Melanie rattled off directions to campus. They were, apparently, only four stops and one train change away from the N.I.T. campus. He could be there in fifteen minutes. Once he'd committed her directions to memory, he relaxed for the first time since their ordeal began.

"So you got all of that?"

"Yep." he said, smiling for the first time that morning. "Got it."

"My place isn't too far from campus. I'll meet you at the Administration building and help you find your tour."

"Mel, you're a lifesaver."

"Yeah," she laughed, "I get that a lot. Now hurry up and get your butt on that train! See you soon!"

He ended his call and walked back over to his mother who was having a heated discussion with a tall dark skinned man in a dark blue uniform that identified him as a Metro Transit employee.

"I don't see why you have to be so rude. We're not from here, how were we supposed to know we were going the wrong direction?"

The man rolled his eyes, "Listen lady, I'm just tryin' to tell you how to get where you're goin'. You're the one giving _me_ a hard time."

"I think I'd like to speak to your manager!" His mother's voice was carrying through the station and passersby slowed to see what the commotion was about.

"You're talkin' to him!" the man squared his shoulders and pointed to the nametag under his vest. "Lester Jones, Station Manager."

"Well if you're the manager I think you should be better at dealing with the public. If this were Seattle."

"Well it's not Seattle, it's Washington D.C., now you either want my help or ya don't!"

Freddie stepped in between his mother and Lester, hoping to diffuse the situation and get them on the train that was already approaching.

"Mom, I've got the directions."

"Thank God!" Lester said, turning on his heel and beginning to walk back towards the information booth.

His mother opened her mouth to say something to Lester's retreating form, but Freddie pulled her in the opposite direction, toward the train that was boarding.

"The nerve of that man!"

"Just drop it Mom. It's not important."

"Good manners are always important, Fredward."

"You've known Sam for most of her life…aren't you used to dealing with rudeness by now?" He said, stepping into the train car.

His mother followed him, pulling out a handi-wipe to swipe at the pole they held onto as the train started. "Who were you on the phone with in the station?"

"Oh, um, Sam's sister – Melanie. She's gonna meet us on campus and help me find my tour. You can hang out with her while I finish the tour."

"What? I thought I was going to tour with you."

Parents were allowed on the tour, he knew that, but the last thing he needed today, when he was already making a bad impression by showing up late, was to risk his mother saying or doing something to invite a further negative mark against him.

"I bet Mel could take you to see what the dorms are like…or the health center…"

She seemed to consider it, "Alright Fredward, but you meet us right after the tour."

"You got it Mom." He'd have agreed to anything at the moment. He closed his eyes and tried to let the rocking of the train calm him. A difficult feat sandwiched as he was between his mother and a woman who must have thought bathing in her perfume was a good idea.

'You can do this Freddie,' he thought, 'You've been preparing for this your whole life.' He repeated it on a loop to himself until the disembodied voice coming through the train's speakers announced that they'd arrived at their stop.

The doors opened and as the cool air of the station pushed in through the open doors, he took a deep breath. This was it.

* * *

"Buenos días, Shay siblings!" Sam called as she entered their apartment, letting the door slam behind her. "What goes on?"

"Shhhh!" Spencer screamed, turning up the volume on the television.

Sam frowned and walked toward where Carly sat at the breakfast bar, checking her email.

"What's got his undies in a twist?" she asked.

"He's watching some pre-historic sitcom re-runs."

"It's not pre-historic! It's Seinfeld!" he said, never looking away from the television.

"Dude," Sam laughed, "my grandma watches that!"

"Just means she's got good taste."

"No, it means she's elderly."

Spencer threw his head back laughing, "That Kramer is a hoot! But seriously," he said turning to the girls, "Who really acts like that?"

Carly and Sam looked at the television where a tall, thin man bearing striking resemblance to Spencer was currently pulling every item in sight down on top of himself in his attempt not to fall over the thin air he'd apparently tripped over.

"Yeah…we don't know anyone like that," Sam said, rolling her eyes.

"We're goin' upstairs Spence. Enjoy your Old Folks TV Flashback." She turned the computer off and motioned for Sam to follow her upstairs.

"So, over twenty-four hours without Freddie," Carly said, "How are you holding up?"

"We're dating, not joined at the hip Carls." Sam flopped down on the bed, kicking her shoes off.

"Since when?" Carly sat on the edge of the bed, tucking her feet under her. "You were together practically every day this summer."

"A fact you complained about more than once. Now you've got me all to yourself for two whole days. We can have girl time!" Sam said, in a high pitched imitation of Carly's voice.

"I did not complain," Carly pouted. Sam's raised eyebrows were a silent dispute to that claim. "Okay, maybe I complained once or twice. But I get it – you're in love." Carly put her clasped hands to her chest, fluttering her eyebrows.

"Shut it, Shay."

"It's nothing to be ashamed of Sam. Love is a beautiful thing."

"I'm not ashamed, I just don't want you getting all squealy and girly over it."

"Okay, no girly squealing…I promise." She laughed, "But seriously, you must miss him."

"Yeah, I guess I do." She leaned back on the pillows, "Who would have thought the day would come when I'd be sitting here missing his nubbish face?"

"I know, it's still kind of weird how good you two are together." Carly lay beside Sam, both of them staring at the ceiling.

"But I'm happy for you." She smiled. "Really happy."

"Thanks Carls." She reached in her pocket for her phone, "Speak of the devil," she smiled and hit the answer button. "Hey you!"

Carly laughed to herself, watching as Sam's face lit up. She was pretty sure who was on the other end of the call.

"Yeah, I'm sitting here with her right now." Sam turned to Carly, "Freddie told me to tell you he met someone from Georgetown today."

"Was he cute?"

"Was he cute?" Sam relayed the message and laughed, turning to Carly. "He says he doesn't know, but the guy had a really cool laptop." Sam laughed. Of course that's what Freddie would notice. "So how are things going? Did you have your interview?" Sam's smile dropped and she sat up, frowning into the phone. "What? What do you mean 'bombed'-when have you ever bombed anything?" She opened her mouth to speak then stopped, listening. After a few minutes she spoke, "Are you near your laptop? Wait, scratch that question. When are not near your laptop? Get onto Skype. I'll be there in thirty seconds."

Sam closed the phone and stood up from Carly's bed walking over to the sitting area where Carly's laptop was perched on the coffee table. Opening it she began to type, her brow furrowed.

"What's going on?" Carly asked, walking over to sit on the ice cream sandwich loveseat. "And since when do you know my password?" she asked.

"Don't question my methods Shay, you're better off not knowing."

"Hey Princess." Freddie's voice was soft as his face came into focus on the laptop's screen.

"Hey…you look awful." Sam said

"Thanks." he muttered sarcastically. "Just what I needed to hear."

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that." Sam apologized – a rarity for her. "So tell me what happened."

"What didn't?" he frowned, running a hand through his hair. "Woke up late, got lost on the metro train, showed up super late for my tour and the tour guide reamed me out in front of everyone about how tardiness is frowned upon at N.I.T. for any reason."

"What a jackass!"

"Samantha! Language!" Marissa's voice called from off screen.

"Sorry Mrs. B!" she leaned in and whispered. "You didn't tell me your mom was there."

"Well where else would I be?" Marissa's face peaked at them from over Freddie's shoulder. "Hello, Samantha. Carly."

"Hi Mrs. Benson." Carly said, waving at the screen.

"Mom!" Freddie turned to look at his mother. "I'm trying to have a private conversation! I thought you were going downstairs to get more towels from the front desk?" Marissa gave a wave to Sam and walked away. Sam heard the front door shut seconds later and Freddie turned back to the screen.

"Sorry about that."

"Yeah, your mom being weird…not used to that at all." she laughed, "So the tour guide was a jerk. What about your interview?"

"That wasn't much better." he shook his head. "The interviewer was a lady from the admissions office. I thought the interview was going really well at first. I told her about iCarly and about how I've wanted to go to N.I.T. for a long time and I told her how important getting into the Young Scholars Program would be for my future."

"That all sounds good."

"I know right!"

"So what happened?"

"Well, then she started asking me about other stuff. Like about my life – outside of iCarly. So I told her about my work in the AV club, and fencing – I even told her about the Training Bros."

"You didn't."

"Yeah, I did." Sam wanted to laugh but Freddie looked so miserable she bit her tongue and tried to keep listening quietly.

"But she said she didn't want to hear about that. She wanted to hear about why I thought I should be at N.I.T. What was it that made me special? Why they should pick me over someone else and I just…I didn't know what to say."

"Are you kidding me?" Sam said, leaning into the screen. "How about the fact that you're a genius, that you work ten times harder than anyone else to make sure the work you do is the best. How about telling her that you're smart and funny and a genuinely good person!"

Freddie smiled at her. "Wish you could have done the interview for me." He sighed and rested his face on his hand. "I wish you were here."

Carly heard the disappointment in his voice and saw the sadness in Sam's. This was a private moment, she thought. "Um, I'm gonna go downstairs and watch Seinfeld with Spencer." she stood and waved and Freddie as she left the room. "Bye Freddie."

"Oh, hey Carly. I forgot you were there. I mean, I didn't forget but…"

"It's fine, Freddie," She laughed, "I'm just gonna give you guys a minute." She walked out the door and Sam pulled the laptop into her lap.

"I don't know what to say Freddie…I know how important this was to you." Freddie shook his head but said nothing. "Are you sure it really was that bad? I mean…you're pretty hard on yourself sometimes."

"No, Sam. It was bad. Like really bad. I started rambling on about how good I was at working with complex software systems and the longer I talked the more she frowned and finally she just cut me off and said 'Well, thank you for your time Mr. Benson.' She just stood up and shook my hand. Didn't even tell me I might hear from them."

"But I thought you were already accepted? I'm confused."

"It's provisional acceptance. Sort of like an 'it's yours to lose' kind of thing. After this weekend a panel meets and they determine if you get actual acceptance into the program. It's not a sure thing." He looked close to tears. Sam wasn't used to seeing him so sad, so out of control. "I've probably ruined it now." He looked at her and tried to smile. "But at least this means we'll have all of Christmas break together…and maybe it's just as well that it happened this way."

"What are you talking about?"

"Maybe it's better if I don't go to school here. I mean it would suck not to get in but…at least if I'm at UW, you'll be there with me."

"Freddie, you're being ridiculous. There is literally no one I know that deserves this more than you do. You're giving up before you even know what's going to happen."

"You don't understand Sam, this isn't like Ridgeway or anything else I've done. This is serious business. Doesn't matter how smart I am compared to the kids we go to school with. I'm a real small fish in a real big pond out here – and I'm drowning."

"Freddie…"

"Listen, let's just not talk about it anymore. I didn't even really want to get into all of this. I'm just happy to see your face," he said. "I miss you."

She smiled. She loved to hear him say that. Loved to hear that even surrounded by the kind of people who got all his nerdy talk- people who were much more like him than she was – he missed her.

"You just saw me yesterday," she laughed.

"Doesn't matter – still miss you."

"I miss you too," she said, "So, did you see Mel yet?"

"Yeah, she's actually been one of the only good things that happened on this disaster of a trip."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, she helped us find our way to campus and she showed Mom around while I was on my tour and in my interview," he said excitedly, "Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you! She arranged us to have dinner with Dr. Feilding tonight!"

"Professor BigWig?"

"The one and only!"

"Wow, that's…that's really cool Freddie. So when are you…" She was cut off by the sound of his mother opening the door.

"Freddiebear, look who I found in the lobby!"

Sam looked into the screen as Freddie turned toward the door. It was like looking into a mirror. Blond hair and blue eyes bounced into the room, accompanied by an impossibly perky voice.

"Hey Freddie!"

"Mel!" he said, standing to give her a one armed hug, "I thought you were gonna meet us at seven?"

"Um, it is seven Freddie." Mel laughed.

"What?" Freddie looked down at his watch and Mel looked into his laptop screen.

"Well, now I see why you lost track of time," she said over her shoulder. "Hey there sis!"

"Hey Mel." Sam grumbled. She wanted to finish talking to Freddie. She didn't want her sister to be the one that got him to quit looking like someone ran over his puppy. "What's going on?"

"Oh, we're getting ready to go out to dinner with Dr. Feilding. Didn't Freddie tell you?"

"Yeah, he mentioned that." she said, "He said you were being really…helpful. Thanks."

"Don't mention it!" she said, turning to Freddie. "We better get going. We've got eight o'clock reservations."

"Oh, um, okay, just give me a minute to say goodbye to Sam."

"Sure thing," Mel said moving toward the door. "I'll meet you in the lobby. Bye Sam!" she called over her shoulder and Sam watched as she walked out the door.

"Well, she's a very…perky young lady." Marissa said, raising an eyebrow as she looked toward the door Mel had just closed.

"Yeah," Sam said, we look alike but…that's about it."

"Well, Samantha," Marissa said, looking toward the screen. "Perky is a dime a dozen. You're an original." she winked at Sam, grabbed her purse and headed for the door.

"So…" Sam said, "I guess you'd better get moving. Don't want to keep the good doctor waiting."

"Yeah," Freddie said softly. "I really wish you could come with me. I just feel…better when I'm with you. Like I can do anything."

"Because you can do anything. Don't let the supernerds in D.C. make you think anything different. Dr. Feilding is going to love you, Freddie. And if he doesn't, tell him I've got a buttersock with his name on it," she smiled. "Now you better go before Miss Perkypants comes looking for you."

Freddie smiled into the screen. "I'll be home tomorrow." His voice was soft. "I love you Samantha."

"Don't call me Samantha," She said as his screen went dark. She sighed and sat back, speaking into the quiet room. "And I love you too."

"Can I come back in?" Carly's peaked her head around the partially opened door into the room.

"No one said you had to leave, weirdo," Sam said, closing the laptop and placing it back on the table. "And this is your room anyway. If I had this room I'd never leave."

Carly walked into the room and sat opposite Sam on the couch. "It just seemed like you guys were having, like, a private moment and I didn't want to interrupt."

"Well, moment's over now so…nothing to interrupt." Sam sat back and pulled her feet up onto the loveseat, tapping absentmindedly on her knees.

"Is Freddie okay? Are you okay?"

"Freddie's upset about the interview he had today, but I think he's probably overreacting – as usual."

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because the guy you love is all upset and you're not there with him."

"I'm fine." she said, unconvincingly, "Freddie's a big boy. I'm sure he'll be fine."

"You don't look so sure."

Sam sighed and looked up at Carly. Her shoulder slumped and she closed her eyes. "I just…I guess I feel bad."

"Feel bad? Why? It's not your fault his interview didn't go well and you helped him out connecting with Mel so he could meet that guy – Dr. Feilding?"

"Yeah, he's on his way to have dinner with the guy now – with Mel and his mom."

"That's good right?"

"Yes…it's good."

"So you feel bad why?"

"Because…if he doesn't get into this program it'll be harder for him to get into N.I.T."

"Sam, I'm sure it'll be fine. Freddie will get in and …"

"That's not why I feel bad, Carls."

"I'm confused."

Sam stood and walked over to Carly's vanity, running her hand over the army of cosmetics there. "I…I feel bad because when he said he might not be able to go, he looked so sad and I couldn't help thinking that part of me was…relieved."

"Oh…" Carly said. "You don't want him to go…"

"No!" Sam whirled around to face Carly. "I want him to have what he wants. I mean, I want him to be happy but…part of me, just a little part, would be…" she sat down on the swiveling stool at the vanity and went quiet.

"What is it Sam…just spit it out."

"I'm a horrible person."

"No you're not."

"I am. Freddie's devastated because the thing he's wanted most of his life might not happen and I'm sitting here thinking that if he goes, if he gets in, I'll never see him and…"

"You'd miss him."

"Right," she said, "Told you I'm a horrible person."

Carly stood and walked over to where Sam sat. "You're not a horrible person Sam. You're in love. And you don't want to think about being away from the person you love. That's totally normal."

"It's not normal for me Carly. I don't get like this…ever! I'm not that girl."

"What girl?"

"The one who lets her whole world revolve around a guy. The one who has to be with her boyfriend all the time and can't stand the thought of not being with him."

"I guess things change," Carly said.

Sam nodded and threw a half-hearted smile on her face. "Enough of this…what ya got to eat Shay?"

"And some things never change." Carly laughed and followed Sam out of the room as she headed for the kitchen.

* * *

**There ya go...tell us what ya thought!**

**Chapter 2 Part 2 posted next Monday.**


	3. Capitol Meltdown - Part 2

**Chapter 3 – Capitol Meltdown Part 2**

Freddie had never been to a restaurant as nice as the one in which he was sitting. He was suddenly thankful for the Mommy and Me 'Miss Manners' etiquette class his mother had forced him to take. At least he knew what fork he was supposed to use.

He looked around the room. The tables, covered in the softest linen he'd ever felt, all held lighted candles at their center that filled the room with a warm glow. Live music came from a grand piano that sat at the center of the room. The menus that their waiter set in front of them had the restaurant name, KOMI, emblazoned on the front. According to Melanie, this was a hot spot in D.C. Everyone from celebrities to politicians was known to make appearances. She said that she'd seen the Clintons here once when she'd been out with the Feilding family. Freddie tried to look inconspicuous as he scanned the room, trying to see if he recognized any faces.

He wished Sam was here. That thought made him smile as he imagined her here, surrounded by the elite of Washington, D.C. She wouldn't have let that change her one bit. She'd have carried on, chewing with her mouth open, not caring if she knew the right fork to use. She'd have him laughing and his mother cringing. She'd have been 100% Sam. She'd have made him feel comfortable. She'd have made him feel like he belonged.

"So, Fredward," Dr. Feilding cleared his throat, tucking his napkin away on his lap. Freddie looked across the table. Dr. Feilding looked exactly the way he would have expected. His small wire frame glasses were perched on his nose. His hair, cut short, was salt and peppered at the temples and he wore a suit that looked like it had cost three times as much as the one Freddie wore. But it wasn't his looks that made an impression. It was something about the way he carried himself. He seemed to be entirely comfortable in his own skin, never fidgeting, always maintaining eye contact. Since they'd arrived people had greeted him, sometimes stopping by the table to say hello. And every time he smiled graciously, shaking hands and holding himself in a way that gave the impression of power and authority. Freddie wanted to be like that – one day.

"Yes, Dr. Feilding?" he tried to keep his voice even.

"Melanie here tells me that you're something of a celebrity back in Seattle."

"Oh, I don't know about that…" he said, embarrassed. Compared to Dr. Feilding he hardly registered a title, let alone the title of celebrity.

"He's being modest," Melanie gushed, patting Freddie's shoulder. "He runs a webshow that has over a million viewers every week."

"Is that so?" Dr. Feilding said, seeming genuinely impressed. "A webshow you say?"

"Yes, well, I don't run it exactly. I do it with two of my friends – well, my best friend and my girlfriend – Sam. I'm the technical producer though."

"And what exactly does that entail?"  
Freddie felt himself relax as he discussed the details of his job on iCarly –people so rarely asked him about it. It had the feeling of stepping into a comfortable pair of shoes, this was the world he understood, this was the part of himself he was proud of. Dr. Feilding smiled and nodded, leaning forward as Freddie talked.

"And you do all of that yourself?"

"Well, yes. The girls – Sam and Carly, they don't really know about anything technical" he laughed, 'at all. They usually leave it all to me."

"And who trained you?"

"I've taken some classes, online. A lot of things I've just figured out on my own."

"And how do you think this will relate to your future, here at N.I.T.?"

_A future at N.I.T._ – Freddie liked the sound of that.

"Well, I want to get a degree in engineering – focus on Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Eventually, after graduate school, I want to get into software development. I have some ideas on new applications and platform creation that could be used to change the face of media and webcasting."

"See, told you he was a genius!" Melanie said. Freddie looked at her and for a second it physically hurt to see Sam's face and know it wasn't really Sam.

"That is indeed a noble aspiration. As I'm sure you know, our Engineering department at N.I.T. is among the very best in the country. If you're focused and determined- as it seems that you are, N.I.T. could provide you with the foundation you need to make those dreams a reality."

"Fredward has been talking about N.I.T since he was a young boy." his mother said, beaming as she looked at him. "As wonderful as your school is, Dr. Feilding, as lucky as he'd be to attend, I think the school would be just as lucky to have him."

"Mom!" Freddie said, mortified. "Dr. Feilding…"

Dr. Feilding laughed, "No, no Fredward. Your mother is right. At N.I.T. we pride ourselves on being able to find, recruit and admit the best and brightest young minds in this country. If you've been offered provisional acceptance to the Young Scholars Program then you are, indeed, part of that group. Your mother has every right to be proud."

The waiter arrived at their table to take their order and Freddie was all too happy to accept Dr. Feidlings suggestions for a meal choice.

"So, Fredward," Dr. Feilding set his wine glass down, "How did your interview go?"

Freddie shook his head. He'd been hoping that this didn't come up.

"Um, not so great actually."

"Freddie, it wasn't that bad." Melanie said. She turned to Dr. Feilding, "He interviewed with Professor Hazlette."

Dr. Feilding nodded, seeming to understand something neither Freddie nor his mother did. "Oh, I see. Professor Hazlette, while a brilliant teacher, is a bit less – social, than some."

Freddie turned to Melanie, confused.

"She's not a people person." Melanie said, "She's the hardest professor on campus – and the hardest one to interview with."

"Oh, well, she wasn't very impressed with me I don't think." Freddie said. "It was a disaster actually."

Freddie's mother patted his hand. "Freddie's been worried all afternoon that the interview with this Ms. Hazlette was going to keep him out of the program."

"Hmmm," Dr. Feidling ran a hand across his jaw. "I can understand your worry, Fredward."

"You can call me Freddie."

"Freddie, of course" Dr. Feilding said, "Professor Hazlette is the head of the Young Scholars Program admission committee. Her opinion is important – carries quite a bit of weight." Freddie bowed his head. He'd suspected, and feared, as much. He felt his dreams of attending turning to ash right in front of him. "But," Dr. Feilding leaned across the table, whispering conspiratorially. "I might just know of an opinion that matters a little more." He winked at Freddie and sat back in his seat.

They spent the rest of the evening talking and laughing. Freddie was shocked at just how down to earth Dr. Feilding was, at one point he'd had them all laughing as he discussed the time he'd had Hiroshi Nakasi, a brilliant physicist from Japan who'd come as a guest lecturer to campus the year Dr. Feilding took over his position as Dean. He'd worked for weeks perfecting his Japanese, determined to be able to speak with Hiroshi in his native tongue. However, after a few too many bottles of wine at dinner he'd tried to ask Hiroshi how when his flight departed and, instead, asked him when his last bowel movement was.

"Needless to say," Dr. Feilding laughed, "that was the last time Mr. Nakasi visited our campus – and the last time I've tried to speak Japanese."

Freddie wiped at his eyes. This felt so good, sitting here in such a nice place having a regular conversation with someone like Dr. Feilding – who'd insisted that of campus he be called Micheal. He felt, for the first time since arriving, like he belonged.

Dr. Feilding looked at his watch. "Oh my, I hadn't realized how late it was." he waved his hand toward the waiter to have the check brought to them. "Now, Freddie. I need to ask you a serious question."

"Sure Dr. Field…I mean, Micheal. Anything."

He propped his elbows up on the table and looked directly into Freddie's eyes. "I've been very impressed with you this weekend. You're polite, well-spoken and intelligent. I think you'd make a wonderful addition to our student body at N.I.T., but I need to know. Are you ready for this?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know if I get your meaning."

"We admit the best and we expect them to maintain a consistent standard of excellence. N.I.T. is rigorous. The rewards are many, but the work is hard. This isn't the school people come to for partying or, as you young people say, 'hooking up'. This is the school you come to when you're ready to put the work in to make your dreams a reality. Are you ready to dedicate yourself completely to this way of life, and prioritize your work above everything else?"

Freddie paused. This was what he'd wanted for as long as he could remember. He still wanted it, but in the past few months being with Sam he'd realized that there were other things in the world – friendship, acceptance…love. He wanted those things too.

"Yes. I'm ready," he said, hoping that he sounded more confident than he felt.

"Well then," Dr. Feilding said, standing. He reached his hand across the table. "I think it's fairly safe to say welcome to N.I.T."

Freddie shook Dr. Feilding's hand and smiled, throwing his misgivings to the side for the moment. Next to him, his mother and Melanie were smiling at him. It was nice to share this moment with people who cared about him, even if the one person he really wanted to share it with wasn't here.

Gathering up their things they all headed for the exit door. On the street outside the restaurant Dr. Feilding made Freddie promise to keep in touch, assuring Freddie that in the morning he'd be giving Professor Hazelette a call to smooth things over. He told Melanie she could have the evening off, encouraging her to show Freddie around D.C. Melanie agreed and walked back to the Metro station with Freddie and his mother, chatting all the way about how great the dinner had gone and how lucky Freddie was to have a man like Dr. Feilding in his corner.

They took the train back to Freddie's hotel so that he could change, Mel waiting in the lobby while Freddie followed his mother upstairs. Coming out of the bathroom, his suit tossed over his arm, finally dressed in his broken in Chucks, a pair of jeans and an N.I.T hoodie, he yawned as he put his clothes in his suitcase.

"Freddie, are you sure it's a good idea to go out with that girl? We have an early flight tomorrow."

"I can sleep on the flight, Mom," he said, closing his suitcase and setting it back on the ground beside his bed. "Besides, Sam's sister went to a lot of trouble to get me a meeting with Dr. Feilding. I think it would be rude to say no to her now. And, you know, she's part of Sam's family. I want them to know and trust me,"

"Hmmm…well, just be careful."

"Don't worry, mom. I'll be fine." he said. "And it's not like I'll be alone. I'm with Mel." He leaned down and kissed her cheek, then headed out the door.

Marissa stared after her son, "That's exactly what I'm afraid of."

* * *

"You talk to Freddie yet?" Carly asked as they stood in line at Burger Barn, waiting for their food.

"Not since this morning," Sam said, "But Mel just texted me."

"What'd she say?"

Sam used her most annoying girly voice in an imitation of Melanie as she read the message. "OMG Sam! Dinner was awesome! Dr. Feilding loved Freddie! And I had the cutest tiny cheesecake for dessert!"

"She told you about her dessert?" Carly asked, "What is with you Pucketts and food?"

"Mel feels about sweets the way that I feel about meat. Now shush…there's more." She resumed her high pitched Melanie imitation. "And his mom is so sweet – she totally loves me I think. I'm getting ready to take him out to do some nighttime sightseeing! TTYL!" Sam rolled her eyes as she put her phone back in her pocket. "And I swear to you, every sentence had an exclamation point – and a smiley face! We've got the same mother, what in the hell does she have to be that freaking happy about!" Sam frowned, "It's only a matter of time before all that cheesecake catches up to her and she becomes an 800 pound cat lady."

"This from the girl who just ordered two double barn breaker burgers." Carly laughed.

"Meh…" Sam said irritably, grabbing their tray and heading toward a corner at the back of the restaurant. "Whatever."

"I still don't get why you hate your sister so much."

"I don't hate her…exactly." she looked at Carly's disbelieving face, "Seriously. It's just that Melanie…I don't know." Sam took a bite of her burger and up toward the register, as if the words she was trying to think of might magically appear on the Burger Barn menu. "We were close when we were kids, but now…it's not even like she's my sister. Just this random girl I talk to sometimes who happens to look just like me."

"But she did you a big favor with Freddie."

"Yeah, she did." She reached over to grab some of Carly's fries since hers were already gone. "I thought Freddie was gonna pee himself when I told him."

"He's really excited about this, huh? N.I.T. I mean."

Sam shrugged. "I guess."

Carly cleared her throat. She'd been wanting to talk to Sam about something for a long time and had yet to find a time when she thought Sam would be open to it. College was a touchy subject and one that Sam appeared completely uninterested in discussing.

"So, now that Freddie's pretty set on N.I.T., what are you going to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it's almost senior year. We've got S.A.T.'s and college applications. Do you know where you're going to go?"

"For college?"

"No Sam, for dinner," she said sarcastically. "Of course for college!"

"Who said I'm going?"

"Why wouldn't you?"

"Why would I?" Sam said, sitting back in her seat, sucking on the straw to her strawberry milkshake.

"Why? Because you want a good life and a good job – and not to live in a box on the street like a hobo!" Her voice rose as she leaned across the table toward Sam.

"Carly, college isn't for everyone. Lots of people don't go to college and they do just fine. And anyway, I'm not saying I'm definitely not going. I just don't see what all the fuss is about."

"But if you _don't_ go and Freddie and I _do_ go…"

"Are you going to quit being my friend because you go to college?" Sam asked

"No."

"And do you think that Freddie and I will quit dating because he's going to college?"

"Well…not exactly."

Sam sat up. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? You think Freddie's gonna dump me if I don't decide to go?"

"No Sam, that's not what I'm saying."

"Then what are you saying Carly? And can you say it quick? I'm not getting any younger."

"It's just that college is different than high school."

"Thank you Catherine Obvious."

"It's Captain…"

"I know what it is Carls, just keep talkin'."

"When Freddie goes away to school, he'll be around all these people who, you know, get how hard it is to be in college and, I don't know…don't you worry that you guys won't have as much in common anymore?"

She wanted to tell Carly no. She wanted to laugh and say Carly was worrying over nothing. But she couldn't, because at the very center of her heart she knew that Carly had just given a voice to what Sam had been dreading since the letter for Freddie came from N.I.T.

Sam sat quietly for a moment, then looked up at Carly. "Do you know what I love the most about Freddie, what's the very best thing about us?" Carly shook her head. "That he accepts me just like I am. I love you but sometimes you can be a little pushy when you think I need to do something differently. And we all know how much his mom still loves to tell me all the ways I can be a 'proper young lady.' All day long, there's a list of people who want to tell me what to do, how to feel, how to be. But Freddie…he doesn't do that. He just – loves me."

"Awww…" Carly said, closing her mouth at the warning glare Sam gave her.

"I like that I don't have to be a certain way for him to love me. I don't have to do a certain thing for him to be there for me. And he doesn't either. He's an anal, picky, nerdy nub – but I love him anyway and I wouldn't expect him to change." She pulled at a blond curl falling over her shoulder.

"But that's the thing Sam, college, it does change things. There are new people and new experiences and no matter how much we want them to – things can't stay exactly the same. Maybe you don't want Freddie to change, and maybe he doesn't want you to either. But like it or not – change is coming."

Carly stood and Sam followed her out of the restaurant, trying to keep a smile on her face as she only half listened to what her best friend was saying. But the whole walk back to Bushwell, Carly's last words at the restaurant were playing over in her head. Carly was right.

Change was coming – and she didn't like it one bit.

* * *

The D.C. night was warm as Freddie and Melanie walked side by side through a busy D.C. neighborhood. All around him there were restaurants and cafes with small tables outside where people sat laughing, drinking and looking up at the star-filled sky. It was beautiful here. Trees in every shade imaginable lined the street. The grassy area they were approaching was filled with people, sitting on blankets, walking hand in hand, walking briskly as if they had somewhere important to be. That's what seemed so different here – there was an air of importance, everyone seemed to have something to do, somewhere to be, someone to be with. It made him feel good to be a part of this crowd and he felt himself already falling in love with this city.

"And this is where they have the drag races!" Melanie put a hand on Freddie's shoulder and pointed across the street to a grassy area in, what she'd told him was Dupont Circle.

"Drag races?" Freddie asked, "They race cars in the middle of the street?"

Melanie laughed, "Not exactly. The Drag Races happen every year. Drag queens from the area – and even other people who want to join in, put on their high heels, dress up and have a foot race through the streets. It's hilarious. I'll have to take you sometime."

Freddie shook his head. There were no small number of eccentric people in Seattle, but walking through D.C. he realized the eccentrics in this town had their own unique flavor. "I'd love to see that…they really do a race? In, like, full make up and dresses and everything?"

"Yep, you should see them…"

"Sam would love that," he said.

They kept walking, taking in the sights around them, enjoying the breeze that was finally making the stifling heat bearable.

"She really loves you," Melanie said.

"Sam?"

"Yeah. I mean, we don't talk a lot but when we do and she mentions you, I can hear it in her voice."

"Well, I love her too. She's…amazing."

Mel nodded as they continued walking. They arrived at a fountain in the grassy center of the busy area and took a seat on the edge. "You know, I've never heard her talk about a guy like that – about anyone like that really, besides…"

"Carly," they said in unison. Freddie laughed but Mel looked pensive.

"She's really lucky."

"Lucky?"

"To have you and Carly. I've never really had friends like that or…a guy that loves me like you love her."

"I don't know…I feel like the lucky one." He looked up at the darkening sky, wishing Sam could see what he was seeing. "I mean, Sam is just –unique. She doesn't care what people think – she doesn't feel like she has to be like everyone else. Before her, I don't know, I think I let what other people thought become the most important thing. I didn't know how to live life for myself – do the things I wanted to do. Now that I'm with her, she just makes me stronger somehow – braver." he turned to Mel, who was smiling softly, "So, yeah. I'm the lucky one. But, I bet she thinks you had it pretty lucky – you know, getting to go to boarding school and now you're here."

"I don't know if I'd call that luck. Living in that house with my mom, don't get me wrong, I love my mom but the constant stream of boyfriends, the fact that she's never there, the way she pretends that our dad never even existed. I just – I couldn't deal with it. Sam was always stronger than me. She could always handle Mom and not let it get her down. I just…I couldn't. So the first chance I got to get out of there, I took it."

"Worked out for you though."

"Yeah, I guess it did, in some ways. I mean I got a great education. I get to live here in Washington, which I love, but there are things I had to give up."

"Like?"

"Friends…" she laughed at the look of disbelief on Freddie's face. "I mean I have friends but not like Sam does. I remember once she got really sick and I called and our mom was out of town. I was kind of worried but she said that you and Carly came over and made her soup and sat with her. I don't have those kind of friends. And with all my school work and everything I've never really had a lot of time to date. And most of the guys around here only want to talk about grad school and internships and dissertations. It's kind of boring." She laughed.

"Sounds like it," Freddie said, laughing with her. "Sam would kick me in the shins if I talked like that on a date."

"You know," Mel said, turning her head to the side. "The last enjoyable date I went on was…when I went out with you."

Freddie cleared his throat. It had taken a long time for him to live down the humiliation of trying to beat Sam at her own game…and losing horribly. He'd spent an evening with what he now knew was her sister – even kissed her, a thought that made him slightly queasy. He had hoped that their 'date night' would never be brought up again.

Mel laughed and placed her hand over Freddie's. "Calm down Freddie, I'm not trying to get a repeat performance. You're dating my sister for goodness sakes. I'm just saying – good dates don't happen often for me. Or at all."

Freddie breathed a sigh of relief, glad for the awkwardness to have lifted.

"So, are you ready to go?" he said. "If I'm not back soon my mom will worry."

Melanie stood up and led the way back down the street toward Freddie's hotel. "Excited to go home?" she asked.

"Definitely. I mean this has been great but…"

"You miss Sam."

Freddie blushed, "I do. A lot."

"So what about next year?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Dr. Feilding putting I a good word for you along with your acceptance to The Young Scholars Program makes it a pretty safe bet that you'll be here in the fall."

"You think?"

"For sure!" she said brightly, "But if you're here and Sam's in Seattle, how are you guys going to work that out?"

Freddie looked at Melanie, considering his answer. "Can I tell you something – a secret?"

"Sure you can."

"You can't say anything to Sam."

"Sam barely talks to me. I don't think that will be a problem."

"Well, I'm sort of hoping that Sam will…come here with me." He watched Melanie's face to gauge her reaction.

"Come with you…to N.I.T.? I know Sam is smart Freddie but…"  
"No, not to N.I.T., just to Washington. If she got into one of the other schools in D.C. we'd be together."

"Wow, Freddie. I wasn't expecting that answer." They arrived at the front of Freddie's hotel and stopped, standing near the large glass entrance doors.

"You think it's a bad idea."

Mel was quiet as she walked, looking at her feet. "Can I be totally honest, Freddie?"

"Absolutely."

"I don't think it's necessarily a bad idea. Just…unrealistic."

"Unrealistic, why? You don't think Sam can get into school here?"

"That's not it. I might have been the one that went to boarding school, but Sam is just as smart, if not smarter than me. She just chooses not to apply herself. She could get into a school here but…"

"But what?"

"Well, this isn't really Sam's scene. She's smart but school, college, it's not what's important to her. Trust me Freddie, I get not wanting to be apart from her, and I think it's adorable. But if you come here you cannot imagine how hard the work is, and how much time and energy it takes to succeed. If you want to be the best, you have to decide what's most important. You can't be distracted from that."

They were silent and Freddie rubbed the back of his neck, wishing he'd kept his idea to himself.

"But listen Freddie," Mel said, reaching out to grab his hand, "I'm sure it'll be fine. You'll figure it out." She squeezed his hand and smiled. "I'd better let you get upstairs."

"Oh, yeah, thanks Mel. For everything. Really – I appreciate it."

"No problem Freddie. I was happy to do it." She reached out and hugged him, "Call me when you get back to Seattle, we can be texting buddies! I'll keep you up to date on all the N.I.T. gossip." She winked at him and he smiled, watching as she walked away, turned the corner by the side of the building, and was gone.

He headed upstairs, pulling out his phone. He had one missed call from Sam. Pulling up her number he waited for her to answer.

_"You have reached the voicemail of Sam Puckett. If I'm not answering it's either cuz I'm busy or I don't like you – either way, you can leave a message – but I might not call you back."_

He laughed at her voicemail and started to hang up…true to the message, Sam very rarely checked her voicemail and even more infrequently called people back. As he moved to end the call a new screen popped up on his phone.

Incoming Call: Sam

"Sam!"

"The one and only!" He could hear the smile in her voice. "I called you earlier."

"I saw that. I was actually out sightseeing with Melanie."

"Oh," Sam was quiet enough that he worried he'd dropped the call.

"Sam?"

"Yeah, I'm here," she said. "So did you have fun?"

"I did. Spent most of the time talking about you though."

"Oh, really? Telling her how amazing I am? How I give your life meaning?" she laughed.

"As a matter of fact, yes … so what did you do today?" he said, stepping into the hotel elevator, pressing the call button for his floor.

"Hung out with Carly. Ate. Talked about stupid stuff with Carly. Ate. Watched Girly Cow with Carly…"

"And let me guess…ate?"

"That's what I love about you, Fredalupe, you get me."

"That I do, Princess Puckett. So, will you be at Carly's when I get home tomorrow?"

"What time are you getting home?"

"I should be there around six." he smiled, walking out of the elevator, toward his room.

"I'll be here," she said. "Alright, well Carly is giving me the evil eye, something about you interrupting Girl's Night."

"Tell Carly I said sorry. I'll see you tomorrow. Oh, and my mom actually has to go to work at midnight, so…"

"No further words necessary," Sam said, "Me and my lips will see you and your lips tomorrow."

"My lips can't wait." he said, "And neither can I."

* * *

Freddie had heard the phrase 'bone tired' but he hadn't fully understood it until today. The trip to N.I.T. had started badly but ended up being a smashing success. He now had a personal connection to one of the most important people on the N.I.T staff, an all but guaranteed spot in N.I.T.'s winter Young Scholars Program, and had taken the first tentative steps toward fall admission. He couldn't have wished for a better outcome. But now, after a nearly seven hour trip back to Seattle, during which they'd been delayed after a layover in Denver, he was exhausted.

Their Denver flight delay meant that his mother, who was scheduled for a late shift at the hospital, had no time to stop at home, so he'd dropped her off at the Emergency Room entrance and drove the rest of the way to Bushwell alone. He'd texted Sam, hoping to be able to see her or at least talk to her, but she hadn't responded. He figured it was for the best, as tired as he was he'd probably just fall asleep mid-conversation anyway.

Pulling his luggage from the trunk, he headed up the elevator to his apartment, stifling a yawn. School started in just under a week and for the first time since he could remember, he wasn't excited about it. The summer had been so amazing, spending all his time with Sam, getting used to being a couple. Now, with senior year starting, he knew his days would be filled with homework and college preparation, and he wouldn't be able to spend the kind of time with Sam he'd grown used to.

_'And it's only going to get worse if you go to D.C.'_ he thought. Stepping off the elevator he shook his head to rid himself of the intrusive thought. He had a whole year before he really had to worry about that, a whole year to bring Sam around to the plan that had begun forming in his head as he flew back to Seattle. He wanted N.I.T. –and it looked like he'd get his wish-but he wanted Sam there with him. He just had to get her to see how good an idea it was.

All in good time.

He'd be patient, move slowly and, if he played his cards right, this time next year he'd be walking around the Nation's Capital holding hands with the woman he loved. He was sure of it.

Unlocking the door to his apartment, he hung his keys on the hook by the door and began the walk to his bedroom, too tired even to turn the lights on. The house smelled, even after three days away, like Pine Sol and fabric softener, but as he approached his room there was a subtle hint of – bacon? He laughed to himself, chalked it up to exhaustion and missing Sam.

In his room he set his bag by the door, stretched, and switched on the light. His room was exactly as he'd left it. His mother was a stickler for making sure their house was immaculate…even when they weren't there. She once told him that if there was a fire she wouldn't want the fire department remarking on how filthy their apartment was – as if anyplace she'd live in could ever be called anything beyond neurotically clean.

A cool breeze drifted over his face and he noticed two things at once, two things that were decidedly different than how he'd left them.

His window was open and his bed wasn't empty.

"Sam!" he screamed her name louder than he intended, shock at finding her there making him forget how much she hates to be woken up – especially by loud voices. It didn't matter though, since she obviously hadn't hear him. He called her name again, this time moving toward the bed, peering down at her. She was fully dressed, her hair wild and spread out over his pillows. Her fingers, shining with grease, were curled around a small, empty plastic bag. He smiled, the mystery of the faint bacon smell in the apartment solved. Her phone lay on the floor beside the bed, blinking to indicate that she had missed calls. No wonder she hadn't answered his texts.

He sat lightly on the side of the bed. The weight of his exhaustion and the happiness of finding her here – of finally seeing her face, making him consider for a moment just slipping in under the covers beside her and turning out the light. Before he could, her lumberjack snores stopped and she blinked rapidly, adjusting to the light. She frowned and looked up at him, her brow furrowed in annoyance. He almost apologized, then realized it was his room she was sleeping in.

"Hey Goldilocks! Still having trouble with that whole 'breaking and entering' thing?" he laughed.

"Still having trouble with that 'don't wake me up when I'm sleeping thing'?" She started to sit up, dragging a hand through her hair, "Were you watching me sleep again Benson?"

Freddie leaned in and placed a kiss to her forehead, "You're really cute when you're sleeping. Especially the drool – that's the hottest part."

She wiped at her mouth and smacked his arm when it came away dry. "I do not drool."

"Yes, you do. And snore like a merchant marine."

"Oh, shut up," She said, "Why are you talking anyway, I thought you said something about my lips…and your lips…" smiling, she pulled herself onto his lap.

"Hmmm…you might have to refresh my memory…" his words were cut off as she brought her lips to his.

He poured every ounce of himself into it, leaning into her, laying her back against his pillows until his body lay flush over hers – giving his hands access to roam the body he'd been dreaming of, missing, for three days.

Freddie felt Sam's leg snake around his own, drawing his hips down hard against hers. She bit softly at his bottom lip, tangling her fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck.

"Someone missed me." He smiled, breaking the kiss.

"Less talking, more kissing."

He had no objections to her demands and deepened the kiss, his fingers toying at the edge of the t-shirt she wore, sliding his fingers beneath it, smiling at the shiver that ran through her body as his fingers traced soft circles up her side.

Sam's hands ran down the front of his shirt, stopping at his belt buckle. His breath hitched. He'd been happy to lay here, feeling her beneath him. As much as he'd dreamed about the day she'd finally request an encore of their night in Portland (and _had_ dreamed of it…a lot), he hadn't pushed. Now, as he felt her small hands undoing his belt, slipping his jeans over his hips, it looked like he'd gotten the green light and he had to concentrate to avoid screaming his happiness. He wondered if sex would ever not have that effect on him – he doubted it.

Without a word he followed her lead. Standing he let his pants fall, grabbing the bottom of his shirt and pulling it over his head. He looked down at her. A slow blush was blossoming on her chest and the look she was giving him, staring up at him with one corner of her lip tucked into her mouth, made his head spin. Lying back on the bed beside her he watched as she tugged at her shirt, drawing it over her head, sending blond curls spilling all around her. He took a moment to drink in the sight of her. He wondered if she knew just how beautiful she was and thought he'd gladly spend his life making sure she knew.

Moving down on the bed he lowered his lips to the hollow of her hip, brushing his lips against her as she squirmed. He traced a line from her hip to the black lace of the boy shorts she wore. Feeling more daring than he had the first time, he looked up at her as he pulled the fabric into his mouth, tugging as he hooked his thumbs into the sides, sliding them over her hips.

"Look who learned some tricks in D.C. Remind me to ask you about that later." Sam laughed, then threw her head back against the pillows as his lips made contact with the inside of her thigh.

"Less talking." he said. Sam was silent, her breath coming out in ragged spurts as Freddie's fingers teased the sensitive skin where his lips had previously been. He pulled himself up, kissing her lips as his hands began moving higher. He knew her now, knew her body – understood what she liked and what she needed. The sound of her voice, soft moans filling the room, confirmed that he'd hit the right spot.

Sam's hands toyed at the waistband of his boxer shorts, sliding inside and when they'd found their intended target, he closed his eyes tight against the desire to end it all right there.

"Wait," he said, balancing himself on one arm as he reached across Sam to open his nightstand drawer.

"No waiting…" Sam mumbled into his neck, pushing his boxers down to his knees, using her feet to work them the rest of the way off. She pulled his face to hers, running her tongue along the inside of his lip in a way that made the whole world a haze.

"Sam…condom…"

"Freddie…" she replied, "Pill…"

He hesitated all of two seconds before shutting the nightstand drawer, doing the math in his head. A month on the pill…they were safe.

He returned is lips to hers, his hand holding her hip steady as he continued to explore her mouth. It was perfection, the moment when it became impossible to tell where one of them stopped and the other began. Holding what he loved here in his arms, knowing that he was making her happy, that for this moment being together was all that mattered.

When it was over and they lay tangled together, staring at the ceiling, Sam laughed, curling into Freddie's side.

"Welcome back!"

"That was quite a welcome." he laughed.

"I aim to please." Sam said. "So…where's your mom?"

"How do you know she's not here?"

"Because I doubt you'd have been ripping off my underwear with your teeth while your mom was in the kitchen making sugar free brownies."

"Touché."

"So," Sam said, turning to look at Freddie. "How was the trip? Was it the fulfillment of all your nerd dreams?"

Freddie couldn't help the smile the lit his face. "Absolutely amazing!"

"What was so amazing about it?"

He hesitated for a moment. Telling Sam about his weekend could easily send him into, what she dubbed, Nub Mode.

She rolled her eyes. "Go ahead, I promise not to make a peep."

They both knew that was unlikely but he still launched into his story, telling her every detail he could remember. True to her word, and much to his shock, she listened quietly to his entire story.

"And then I came home to find the world's hottest girlfriend asleep in my bed – with an empty bag of bacon."

"You took too long…I got hungry." She stretched like a cat, drawing the blanket up around her. "Speaking of which, I'm hungry again."

"Why am I not surprised." he laughed. "Wanna order a pizza?" he said, pulling on his boxers.

"Yeah. You order the pie, I'll take a shower."

"As you wish, Princess Puckett."

Twenty minutes later they were sitting on his bed, waiting for the pizza to arrive. Freddie smiled as he watched Sam run a brush through her hair, still wet from her shower. "I missed you," he said.

"Really?" she asked. "Even surrounded by all those genius N.I.T. types?" She tried to keep her voice light but he heard her real question – and the insecurity running beneath it. He took the brush from her hand and pulled her to him.

"Not a single one of those 'N.I.T. types' held a candle to being with you." She nodded against his chest but said nothing.

"And you know what?"

"What?"

"I think you'd actually like it in D.C."

"Really? What's so great about D.C.?"

"Well, for starters, they have a restaurant called 'Ben's Chili Bowl' – home of the World's Best Chili!"

"Keep talking…I like where this is going."

"And I saw a cupcakery that actually serves bacon cupcakes!"

"Do not joke about something that amazing, Benson."

He crossed his fingers over his chest, "Scout's honor. I'd have brought you one but I couldn't take it on the plane." Sam moved down to lay her head in his lap. He began to absentmindedly play with one of her curls. "And the best part was actually something your sister told me about." He felt Sam tense just the smallest bit, "She took me to this place called Dupont Circle and she said that every year tons of drag queens get all dressed up and run through the streets in their high heels and dresses and make up. They call it The Drag Race!"

"Seriously?" she shook her head, "Chili, cupcakes and racing drag queens. Gotta admit, this place doesn't sound too bad. Might make it worth the visit once you're at your fancy school."

Neither of them said a word. It was the first time since he'd returned that the reality of their situation – the fact that in less than a year they might be living on separate coasts, had been brought up. He was as sure now as he had been when he'd boarded the plane for Seattle that somehow, someway he was going to have his cake and eat it too. N.I.T. and Sam, two dreams he was determined could peacefully co-exist. But now wasn't the time to tell her that. He was happy enough to be changing her mind about D.C. – helping her see what a great place it was. Eventually he'd make her see that experiencing it together was the best idea for both of them.

All in good time.

Sam sighed and snuggled into him. He leaned back against the headboard and started down at her in the silence.

"Sing for me."

She laughed and looked up at him. "Random much?"

"Why is that random?"

"Because I don't sing."

"You sang for me at prom."

"That was different…desperate times call for desperate measures."

"I think your voice is beautiful. Please?" he said, "Just one song." He made a poor attempt at a puppy dog face and Sam laughed, turning over onto her back.

"You're such a sap," she said, then drew in a breath and closed her eyes. "Twinkle, Twinkle, little…"

"Sam…"

"Okay, okay. Don't get your panties in a wad." she laughed then cleared her throat and her voice filled the room, clear and sweet.

_Maybe I know somewhere deep in my soul, that love never lasts_

_And we've got to find other ways to make it alone, or keep a straight face._

_And I've always lived like this, keeping a comfortable distance._

_And up until now I've sworn to myself, that I'm content with loneliness._

_Because none of it was ever worth the risk._

_But darlin' you are, the only exception. You are the only exception. You are the only exception_

When she was done Freddie didn't speak. He wished he'd been able to record it, to capture the entire moment. He knew that Sam loved him, even if they didn't say it all the time or show it the way some couples did. But hearing her voice as she sang to him, putting all the vulnerability she usually avoided into those words – it was worth more than a hundred spoken 'I love you's.

"That was beautiful." he said. "Thank you."

"No big."

"It is big, Sam. Do you have any idea how good you are?"

She shrugged. "You know, when I was little, I wanted to be a singer. Like a famous one – music videos, travelling around the world – the whole nine. It's sort of how I got into the whole pageant thing."

"I always wondered about that. You're not exactly the pageant girl type."

"Yeah, it was actually Melanie who wanted to do it-pageants I mean. She had Mom sign her up for one. The Little Miss Seattle pageant. My mom went all out – got the fancy dress and everything. She got all signed up, then when we got there she couldn't do it, spent an hour in the can tossing her cookies."

"So what happened?"

"Well, Mom said she wasn't gonna throw three hundred dollars down the toilet along with Mel's breakfast so since there just so happened to be someone there who looked just like Melanie…"

"She entered you instead."

"You got it."

"But you kept competing after that."

"What can I say – I was a natural. Something about competition I guess. But…it was cool. I mean, I got to take dance lessons and music lessons with Ernie. And…it felt good you know. For once I wasn't just the 'other' Puckett sister. I was good at something."

"So why'd you stop…I mean other than the whole 'you may or may not have pushed someone down the stairs' thing."

Sam laughed. "Well, when Melanie got accepted to the boarding school she got a scholarship but it didn't cover everything. So…there really wasn't any money for lessons or pageants…" Her voice tapered off.

"You should do it again."

Sam sat up and looked at him like he'd grown a third eye. "Pageants? Are you kidding?"

"Not necessarily pageants, but like, music lessons. You're really good Sam – you shouldn't give that up."

"Lessons cost money."

"I could help."

"Absolutely not."

"Why not?"

Sam rolled her eyes and started to get off the bed, "Let's just drop it."

"But Sam…"

The doorbell rang and Sam smirked at him, heading for the door. "Saved, literally, by the bell." she said. "Now grab your wallet – since you're so eager to pay for things."

He shook his head, following her out of the room. He'd drop it – for now-but in his head the wheels were already turning. It wasn't fair that Sam had been forced to give up something important to her. A lot of things about the life Sam had lived weren't fair. But this one he could fix. And he would.

All in good time.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting, I was in the hospital - long story but I'm okay now. We'll try to post weekly updates from here out, but if we can't just know that we will post when we can...this story won't be abandoned.**

**And we love to hear what you think so review, review, review...**


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